Thread: How do these Dovos compare?

As far as I know, it's just a matter of personal preference with those razors. Dovo makes a quality blade, and SRD is the way to go. You can ask Don at SRD directly if he feels one is better than the other. I think the steel is basically the same, carbon steel. I'm not sure about the "silver steel". The price difference between those razors appears to be in the scales.

Montrealer,

IMHO you can't go wrong with any of your Dovo choices. I own and use the Ebony Silver Steel as well as the Black Star and both are excellent shavers.

Whichever razor you choose as your first purchase, make sure that it is expertly honed prior to your using it. For that reason I would go with your choices from SRD. All of their razors are honed prior to sale.

I've used several on your list in an attempt to figure out which one I liked best from a shaving performance perspective. The ones I tried included the Dovo Soligen (Bone handle), Dovo Silver Steel (Ebony handle), Dovo Special (Tortoise handle), and Dovo Best Quality (Plastic handle). After seeing a couple of examples of I decided that IF there were any performance differences due to blade steel or blade model, that those differences were smaller than the random (and small) variation between hand ground blades. In fact, I'm pretty sure the best quality, special, black star, and soligen (bone) all start with the same blade blank and then receive different graphics and handles.

ps: The current Dovo best quality doesn't have a rough unpolished "ground" look, or a stamped name in the tang. It's a polished blade and lazer engraved tang. It's handle looks as good as utilitarian plastic can look and is sturdy. The Silver Steel and Tortoise were both very nice looking in person.

pps: I found that bone handled razors made it harder to control my angles when going around the corners of the chin and jaw. The handle was heavy enough to rotate the blade in my fingers if I used a light grip. (Light grip was to prevent nicks if I hit an obstruction). The Ebony handle was about the same weight as the plastic on the Best Quality, and the Tortoise handle was a teeny tiny bit lighter.

The important thing is to buy it from someplace that hones them to "Shave Ready" (they are rough honed only from the factory). SRD is reputed to have the best honing out there (I haven't tried elsewhere, but I can verify SRD's honing is great) - and some very competatively priced razor / strop / brush packages.

I have the Dovo Prima, #2 on your list, and it is my favorite razor.

Montrealer:

Since I presume we're in the same town, I would throw in a recommendation for shopping at Fendrihan - Straight Razors, Classic Wet Shaving Supplies (Ontario-based) to save on shipping charges, customs, and delays. Their presharpened razors are honed by another montrealer who also happens to be a member of this forum (Daniel Gauthier/floppyshoes) and who does a great job as well.

You can't go wrong with a DOVO best quality, but stropping and shaving technique really are the important thing to focus on right now.

They are all the same as far as shaving(same steel, grind etc). The price difference is the scale materials, and blade decorations.
Buy a Dovo Best Quality, it's excellent. Buy a different one if you want a fancier blade, but it won't shave any differently.

Not tired the others but have, and love, the Prima Silver Steel with Ebony scales!

I just got the Dovo Astrale 5/8 from the guys at SRD. I've had 3 great shaves with it. Imo you couldn't go wrong with any of them, but, I can attest to excellent quality of the Astrale.

As a fellow nubee My advise is set a price range including your strop and brush and stick to it . Once you have decided to stick with wet-shaving you can spend some more. Also consider your grip , this is very important as your learning your technique. I went with a wooden scale on my first razor A TI Le grelot with a cocobolo scale and I dont regret it at all. I have all ready acquired a number of others in the short time I have been wet-shaving and a Dovo is definitely on my list of to do's. If the one you like is not in stock Check vintage razors LLC. I like them as much as I like SRD and am making it a point to support both. Good luck .